Imam-ul-Haq replaced the injured Fakhar Zaman in the India vs Pakistan match in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, who is working as a commentator in the ongoing contest, revealed that Imam was in superb form in domestic cricket and scored 150-plus in the previous match before joining the Men in Green for the global tournament. However, he gifted his wicket to the rivals by going for a non-existent run.
Imam came down the wicket to hit Kuldeep Yadav’s delivery and went for a single. The ball went straight to Axar Patel, who was fielding in the mid-on region, and his direct throw hit the stumps, giving no chance to the batter to reach the non-striker’s end.
Navjot Singh Sidhu mocked the southpaw for his mistake. “It is international cricket and not a domestic match. No matter whether you are coming to the tournament after scoring a hundred in domestic cricket, international cricket is different. He made the mistake of taking on Axar Patel’s arm, who was quick like lightning. Axar doesn’t give you a chance. The run was never on,” he said on Star Sports.
Babar was the first Pakistan batter to depart after scoring 23 runs off 26 balls, with the help of five boundaries. Hardik Pandya’s length delivery ended Babar’s stay in the middle.